Montgomery College Bioscience Education Center

Preparing Students for Careers in Maryland’s Innovation Economy

The Germantown Bioscience Education Center is a significant component in advancing the state and county’s economic development goals, to further the growth in the technology and life sciences industry.

Clark constructed the new 141,000 square-foot Bioscience Education Center for Montgomery College. The three-story building is part of the Science and Technology Park on the college’s Germantown campus.

The center houses six general purpose classrooms, eight recitation rooms, 25 wet laboratories, a detached greenhouse complex, the science learning center, and 48 offices to support the biology, biotechnology and chemistry curricula. A 4,115 square-foot meeting room and five break-out rooms will support conferences. The biotechnology laboratories were designed to provide instruction meeting industry standards, including dedicated space for teaching cell culture, biomanufacturing (cell propagation using bioreactors and protein purification using FPLC units) and genetic diagnostics utilizing Next Generation DNA sequencers and digital droplet PCR. A mock GMP lab that mimics the industry environment provides training opportunities for local industry partners. As the academic cornerstone of the planned life sciences park, the building will provide opportunities for undergraduate research and the expansion of course and program offerings.

The building has a structural steel frame supporting composite metal decks and is wrapped in a high-performance masonry, aluminum panel, and curtain wall façade. The scope of work also included completing the campus’ new southern entrance and building new roads to improve traffic flow.

Clark also built the Science Center for Montgomery College's Rockville campus in 2011.

Sustainability

Designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, the Bioscience Education Center features numerous sustainable elements, including roof-mounted wind turbines, a 30KW grid-connected photovoltaic solar panel system, a green roof system. and a high-performance mechanical system with ice production/storage and ammonia chillers. More than 75 acres of mature forest and a stream valley buffer will be preserved on the Germantown Campus. The forest reserve includes a champion American elm with a 100-foot canopy – one of the largest in Montgomery County.